The listeria outbreak from Jensen Farms cantaloupes in 2011 killed 33 people and sickened dozens more, according to the CDC. Many of those victims and families have sought compensation from the farm, from its distributors, and from auditing labs that gave good-practice reassurances about farm operations.

Lead attorney Bill Marler said settlements to victims could be completed within a month, though further compensation is possible if Marler and other attorneys are successful in drawing more distributors into the compensation pool. So far, attorneys have negotiated about $4 million in total compensation, to be split among 60 claimants. (44 of those claimants are through MarlerClark in Seattle.)

The pool so far comes from bankruptcy and insurance agreements with Jensen, and with the auditing lab that inspected Jensen just before their contaminated cantaloupes were harvested and shipped. A farm equipment firm that sold Jensen a used potato harvest machine, which the FDA said was inappropriate and dangerous when used to sort cantaloupe, has also settled.

Marler’s firm has pursued awards from another lab that hired the subcontractor, from the produce distributor that sent Jensen melons around the nation, and from grocery store chains. Those cases could settle, or move into the courts, where some ground would likely be broken on who exactly is liable for pathogen outbreaks.

[1] is warning cantaloupe growers and packers to adhere to safety precautions and prepare for inspections: http://http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22666551/fda-warns-cantaloupe-farms-they-will-be-inspected